February 6, 2010

A late second-half rally from Wichita State sealed a 76-70 win against Indiana State in a Missouri Valley Conference game Saturday at Charles Koch Arena.

The Shockers trailed by 15 points midway through the second half, but later used a 20-3 run to grab a four-point lead. The Shockers led the rest of the game to remain undefeated at home, picking up their 14th win of the season at Charles Koch Arena.

Wichita State improved to 20-5 overall and 9-4 in league play in front of a sellout crowd of 10,506. The Shockers also improved to 2-0 against Indiana State this season.

Junior forward J.T. Durley scored a team-leading 14 points in the second half, including eight points during the lead-grabbing run. He finished the game with 15 points overall. Senior guard Clevin Hannah led the Shockers with 16 points overall and Toure' Murry, sophomore guard, added 15 points.

Indiana State fell to 14-10 overall and 6-7 in league play, ending a three-game winning streak. Sophomore guard Jordan Printy led the Sycamores with 16 points.

Wichita State grabbed a 36-30 edge in rebounds, including 19 offensive boards. The Shockers forced 14 Sycamore turnovers and had four turnovers.

Wichita State shot 38.7 percent for the game, including 50 percent in the second half, but the Shockers struggled to find their offensive touch in the first half. The Sycamores responded with hot shooting of their own throughout the first 20 minutes.

Indiana State built up an 11-4 lead less than five minutes into the game, converting 3-of-4 three-pointers early and maintained their lead for the remainder of the half.

The Sycamores extended to a 16-point lead, their largest of the game, midway through the first half. Wichita State closed the gap to eight points thanks to a three-point play from junior guard Graham Hatch, followed by a three-pointer from sophomore guard David Kyles with about five minutes left in the half.

Indiana State went on to lead, 37-28, at halftime, led by two Sycamores scoring in double digits. Sycamore sophomore forward Carl Richard posted 12 points, shooting 4-for-4, followed by 10 points from Printy. Indiana State shot 60 percent in the half overall.

Wichita State finished the half shooting 29.4 percent, led by Hatch who posted eight points. Hatch finished the night with 12 points overall.

The Shockers found their offensive touch early in the second half and cut the Sycamores' lead to four points less than three minutes into the half. A dunk from Aaron Ellis, followed by a three-pointer from Murry and jumper from Durley brought the sell-out crowd to its feet.

Indiana State pushed the margin back out to 15 points midway through the second half before the Shockers' game-sealing rally.

A jump shot from Murry tied the game, 63-63, with about four minutes left.

Wichita State next plays at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at Evansville. Kansas 22 will televise the game.

--Courtesy: GoShockers.com